Key Breeding Containers of Dengue Vectors in Outbreak Localities in Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur

Abstract

Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease that rapidly spreads throughout tropical and subtropical regions. An estimated 2.5 billion people live in dengue-endemic countries and millions of cases occurring each year. Identifying key breeding containers are important to prevent dengue epidemics. This study aims to identify key breeding containers and to evaluate the risks of dengue transmission in the dengue outbreak localities in Kepong District, Kuala Lumpur. Entomological surveillance was done between January 2016 to December 2017 in 38 different outbreak localities. Both indoors and outdoors water-holding containers were inspected for the presence of mosquito larvae. All collected larvae have identified the species, types of breeding containers were recorded, and three larval indices, House Index (HI), Container Index (CI), and Breteau Index (BI), were calculated. Of the 2,067 containers inspected, 227 (10.98%) containers were positive for Aedes larvae. The four main breeding container types in this study were plastic containers (31.72%), water drums (22.47%), drains (18.06%), and flowerpots (14.98%). The HI, CI, and BI varied from 0 to 52.94, from 1.72 to 32.76, and from 2.33 to 75.00, respectively. Key breeding containers of Aedes larvae found in this study provide guidance for health service providers to educate residents to eliminate the common indoors and outdoors Aedes mosquito breeding containers in the study area. Contribution/Originality:This study contributes evidence-based data on dengue vectors' key breeding containers that useful in planning and monitoring the intervention of vector control strategies. INTRODUCTIONDengue has a high disease burden globally. It spreads throughout tropical and subtropical regions [1]. Over 100 countries affected by this mosquito-borne disease and approximately 400 million infections occur annually [2]. In Malaysia, dengue has become a major public health issue, with an increasing trend in dengue outbreaks every year. The number of reported dengue cases in 2014 was 108,698 with 215 deaths, followed by 120,836 cases with 336 deaths in 2015, and reduced to 101,357 cases and 237 deaths in 2016 [3]. In the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, the number of reported dengue cases in 2016 was 8,663 with 22 deaths and reduced to 8,350 cases with 19 deaths in 2017 [4].